Gainesville Florida children's photographer: Laurel Housden Photography » Personal

Personal | Rowan being silly – gainesville florida kid’s photographer

Laurel — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:23:01 +0000

If you listen carefully – you may hear “tiptoe through the tulips”!

Personal | Haile Plantation Farmer’s Market

Laurel — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:46:42 +0000

One of the highlights of my weekend is the Haile Plantation Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings. It’s just the best way to start the weekend. I especially love the color of the fruits and vegetables and the coconut flan that I can’t resist. This week I noticed many cute doggies and could not resist their adorable faces! I am enjoying a much needed spring break with my family. I hope everyone is enjoying so far this beautiful spring in Gainesville!

Personal | Rowan’s First FBA District solo

Laurel — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:05:20 +0000

I’m so blessed to have two aspiring musicians in my family. My eldest daughter is a Alto singer in her high school chamber choir. They had their choral assessment last weekend in St. Augustine and the group earned straight Superior ratings in both sight reading and performance. Congratulations to the Eastside High School Chamber Singers!

My youngest daughter is a freshman flute player in the Buchholz High School band program and over the same weekend the school hosted the FBA District 4 Solo and Ensemble assessments. Rowan participated in the Buchholz Woodwind Choir which is comprised of mostly freshman and they received a Superior rating. I’m so proud of all these very young and talented musicians.

Rowan not only performed with her band’s woodwind choir – but she performed a solo piece and performed it for the very first time for a judge. As a mother – I was just beaming with pride watching her prepare for her solo and then presenting her piece flawlessly and with so much passion. The prize for me was watching her face as she waited for her score to be posted and seeing that huge smile when she realized that she has earned that Superior Rating.

london and beyond | my first travel book

Laurel — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:48:42 +0000

Yesterday I blogged about my personal project of creating a travel book from my trip to London in 2010 and featured some before and after pictures. The book is now at the print press and I’m so excited ! It took almost two years to finish because I wanted to create a unique travel book from these photographs and not just the same ‘ole picture book – and I think I’ve created that in this book. I included some of my favorite travel quotations mixed through for inspiration. Instead of posed family pictures – I tried to make the family photographs more interesting to readers that do not know me by using Intagram to create unique vintage looking square pictures – in hopes of making us look more interesting than we actually are! I would love to know what you think of the finished book and welcome your comments below!



london and beyond by photography by Laurel Housden | Make Your Own Book

Some before and after photographs | gainesville, florida photographer

Laurel — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:24:02 +0000

I’ve been working on a very special personal project for almost two years now and I’m finally putting the finishing touches on it. It is my very first fine art travel book from my adventures in london in 2010. I wanted to create a beautiful coffee table book filled with inspirational travel quotes alongside the images that I took from my trip but importantly – I wanted the reader to enjoy it without knowing me nor my family. I wanted it to have a real vintage travel feel – so I used mostly images from my Instagram library to get that old camera look. I will include a link to the ebook that you can download in a couple of days but I thought it would be fun to share a couple before and after pictures of several landscape photographs I took. The moral is: don’t delete it until you’ve worked it!

Personal | My father’s flowers

Laurel — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:34:13 +0000

My father has been critically ill in the ICU in Atlanta since last Saturday. He is battling pneumonia in both lungs, polymyositis, and inflammation around his heart. Pretty amazing for a 58 year old man! It seems like we take one step back for every two steps forward. I spent 5 days last week with my family in Atlanta and now I am back in Gainesville. Last night was very scary – we thought he may not make it through the night – but he did! He is fighting this with all his might – and because of this he has made it through another night. We received good news from the doctor today that he is heading in the right direction – but not out of the woods yet. As you can imagine – it has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I am not working this week but instead – focused on creating these floral pieces in honor of my Dad. I hope to frame them for his home – as a reminder of the love and strength that he has inspired on all of us!

Happy Holidays! | gainesville florida photographer

Laurel — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:19:58 +0000

Wishing all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Look for me end of year slideshow on New Years Eve!

Buchholz Band presents a Veterans Day Concert at the UF Phillips Center

Laurel — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:48:43 +0000

This annual event happens on Thursday, November 10th at 7 p.m. at the UF Phillips Center. All the Buchholz High School Bands will perform including dance numbers from the 40′s by Aviance! Both my parents were musicians in the US Navy for 20 years at the Navel Academy and my brother also is in the Navy – so this is a special day – and a concert – for me! Come out and enjoy the evening – and bring a Vet or an active solider with you. It is free – we ask that you donate a canned item to be donated to local charities!

Chiles Elem. Cheetah Fun Run | 4th grade edition – gainesville florida photographer

Laurel — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:55:08 +0000

Yesterday I photographed Aidan and his 4th grade buddies participating in the Lawton Chiles Elementary School Annual Cheetah Fun Run. It is our PTA’s major fundraiser of the year with a goal of reaching $15,000 to fund projects for the school including Smart Boards, Gardening Programs, and Teacher Mini Grants. Go Cheetahs!!